


Nothing's Safe Tomorrow

by KananOrgana



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Blyla, Dreams are a pain in the ass, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-25
Updated: 2020-03-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 04:35:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23319199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KananOrgana/pseuds/KananOrgana
Summary: En route to Felucia, Aayla Secura has a dream and finds out just how powerful they can be
Relationships: CC-5052 | Bly/Aayla Secura
Comments: 4
Kudos: 83





	Nothing's Safe Tomorrow

General Aayla Secura sighed as she walked the ramp that led into her flagship. She didn’t want to go to Felucia; she hated the Outer Rim in general, but none more than Felucia. It wasn’t the terrain--though the hostile life forms were a contributing factor. It wasn’t the heat because Ryloth prepared her for that. It was the blasted  _ humidity _ . Aayla had always hated it, and it would be far worse at that point in its cycle. 

She also wasn’t a fan of the cruisers, though that came more after her first one was shot down. Cruisers carried few good memories for General Secura. Nothing could have prepared her for what she saw when she finally made her way into the cruiser. Many clones had their helmets off with shaved heads and bacta patches over the top of the right half of their head. Sev, Muscle, and Yankee all saluted her as she walked past. She grabbed Yankee by the arm.

“Where is Commander Bly?” She asked. Yankee frowned for a moment before relaxing just a bit. Aayla’s troops respected her above all else and were all fairly comfortable around her, after a reminder or twenty to relax when she came around. 

“He’s in line outside the med bay with Spec, sir.” 

Aayla frowned and thanked Yankee and hurried to the med bay. All the way, more and more troopers and officers with bacta patches on their (mostly) newly shaved heads. Had they somehow all gotten hurt while waiting to take off? Not if they were all hurt in the exact same area...something was going on with Aayla’s troops and she didn’t like it.

“Bly!” She didn’t know why she called his name so far down the hall. Some troopers gave her a look but she didn’t care. Bly and the nearby troopers stood at attention until Aayla waved her hand. “Do you mind explaining what you are all doing, troopers?” 

“If what I’ve been told is right, we’re saving your life, General.” Bly said solemnly as the ship lurched as they left the Coruscant atmosphere. 

“Bly, what are you talking about?” Aayla watched him bewilderedly. She’d known Bly a long time, but she’d never known him to be vague, at least not with her. 

“Dunno for sure. Just heard something about these chips and don’t want to take any risks.” 

“You’re talking about that ARC trooper.” 

“Yes, sir. Fives.” Bly frowned slightly at the mention of his brother’s name. Aayla knew Fives was a soft subject for nearly all clones. She knew his plot had something to do with the clones and the Jedi, but Aayla couldn’t comprehend these men doing anything to harm their generals. She personally didn’t believe the parasite explanation. Aayla thought it was more likely a psychological condition, though she admitted that didn’t make sense because if that were the case, all the troopers would have been affected.

“...Make sure that Spec is certain that whatever he does heals the way it should. The last thing I need is for you to get an infection.” Aayla offered a small smile and Bly nodded and made his way into the med bay. Aayla could feel his eyes on her as she made her way to the bridge. It was nothing new to her; his eyes were always on his General. Some Jedi--Kit, namely--found it unsettling. Aayla found it comforting. She and Bly seemed to work on the same frequency at all times, always moving in sync, and able to coordinate attacks without a single word. Aayla tried claiming it was experience, but even Bly knew it was some strange Force  _ something _ at work. Her holoprojector chimed.

She activated it to find none other than Kit Fisto on the other end. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see him, she just preferred not to those days. Being caught in a forbidden relationship by the Jedi High Council tended to do that. 

“Aayla! I’m so sorry that I didn’t catch you before you boarded for your next assignment!”

_ That was on purpose. _

“Kit, it’s good to see you.” Not an outright lie, but not the truth either. She was sure he wasn’t trying to gain anything out of the call because he was just that friendly of a guy, but that didn’t make it any more pleasant for Aayla.

“You hate Felucia.” Kit laughed.

“The Council seems to know that.” Aayla mused.

“Do you think it’s a punishment for--”

“No.” Aayla cut him off. She didn’t want or need a reminder. And she didn’t think it was a punishment; nearly every Jedi was around the galaxy at that point in the war. Kit was either dragging on a conversation or he was getting at something. Aayla hoped it wasn’t the latter.

“Just wanted to drop by and say hello and to be safe on your mission.” Kit’s brow furrowed ever so slightly and Aayla felt a slight twinge of guilt. She could feel Bly’s intense eyes, but they weren’t on her for once. They were on Kit. And Aayla felt a great deal of discontent coming from him. She tied to ignore the hollow feeling in her chest knowing she wasn’t Bly’s focal point.

“Thank you, Kit. We’re about to make the jump so I’ll have to be going. May the Force be with you.”

“May the Force be with you, Aayla.” Kit gave her one last toothy grin before he ended the call. Aayla clipped the holoprojector to her side and approached Bly and he instantly turned a bright shade of red. Humans had such glaring tells.

“What was that about, Bly?” Aayla raised an eyebrow and cocked a hip.

“NOTHING, SIR!” Bly stood at attention. His tone and stance alone told Aayla it wasn’t nothing, as if she couldn’t already have  _ felt _ that it wasn’t nothing. 

“Don’t ‘sir’ me, Bly. I know you better than that.” Aayla crossed her arms over her stomach. She liked to think she didn’t have any nervous tells, but she was fooling herself. Bly knew of at least six, though he’d never tell her that. 

“N-nothing I can tell you, sir.”

“I  _ will _ order you, Bly, but I don’t think we’re at that point anymore, are we?” Aayla was quickly losing patience, something that didn’t happen often, and  _ especially _ not with Bly.

“Just, uh, preventing the Council from intervening again.” Aayla could see Bly cringe--and she felt it--as he said it. It certainly didn’t seem like what he  _ meant _ to say, but Aayla wasn’t going to press it. It was embarrassing enough to have had the council on her ass; the  _ last _ thing she wanted was her Commander on her ass about it, too. She didn’t even think of Kit that way anymore. He was just...an enthusiastic ex-lover. If one could even call it that. 

_ Or he doesn’t like Kit the way he didn’t like Master Vos _ ...then again, not many people liked Vos in the first place, and while Aayla saw him as a father figure, she understood the sentiment. 

“That is  _ my _ responsibility, Bly. Not yours.”

“Yes, sir! Sorry, sir.” Bly touched his bacta patch tenderly. Aayla nodded and made her way to the bridge. 

She held herself up on a monitor as the ship jumped to hyperspace. It would be a long journey, and it was one she wouldn’t be in a particularly good mood for, so she made her way back to her quarters. She wouldn't sleep well and she knew that much, but some was better than none. She’d had a lot of trouble sleeping those days. Nightmares plagued her; nightmares she could never decipher. 

Aayla tried distracting herself and meditating after making her way to her quarters, once she decided her ship was safely on its way, deciding she would  _ never _ fall asleep after the call with Kit and the encounter with Bly. She focused on Master Yoda floating the idea of giving her a Padawan after her upcoming Felucia campaign. She hoped that if he did follow through on it that she would get one like Master Billaba did. Aayla didn’t know the kid well, but every encounter she’d had with the kid was a good one. He seemed to piss off Master Nu regularly, the same as she did as a kid. Other than that, meditation is a bust for her, so she settled on at least  _ trying _ to get a couple hours’ worth of sleep in. She lay down in her bunk and was surprised to find just how tired she was. She thought about how she hoped she didn’t have another nightmare as she drifted off into sleep.

When Aayla woke up, she wished she hadn’t. Fallen asleep, woken up, been  _ born _ , whatever. She  _ wished _ she’d had a nightmare. Those were easy to deal with. Dreams about certain clone commanders were  _ not _ . Aayla beat herself up for letting something so small throw her off. It was a  _ dream _ . A kriffing  _ dream _ . A very  _ nice  _ and  _ pleasant _ dream that had her waking up in a cold sweat…and was not at all inappropriate. Because it was only a dream and she was a grown woman...she could make her own decisions and what the Council didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them if she decided to act on anything. Not that she would, but she wasn’t sure about ruling out the possibility, either. 

Aayla passed Bly on her way to the mess hall and couldn’t bring herself to look him in the eye. 

Just a dream indeed. 

###

Aayla Secura was many things, but chief among them was the fact that she was a poet with her lightsaber. Every Jedi’s weapon was an extension of themselves, but none so much as Aayla. She chalked it up to the countless hours spent in the dojo whenever she was at the Jedi Temple, but it was more than that. Sure, Bly figured every Jedi was good with a blade. But Aayla was something else. Aayla had talked about lightsaber forms before in depth with Bly not long after he was assigned to her. So he remembered she primarily employed Form IV with a little V mixed in. They were highly athletic forms and all the other Jedi he later recognized as using those forms were among the greatest. Aayla was unbelievably strong and agile; in fact it was her battle prowess that truly made Bly respect her. Her movements were more difficult than they looked--Bly figured this much from the time Aayla had shown him his way around a blade. Lightsabers felt almost  _ alive _ and that’s what threw Bly off the most. 

Bly rested easily knowing his General was among the best of the Jedi. 

Aayla swung her lightsaber a few times to deflect fire, grunting with every movement. She landed a perfect kick to the faceplate of a battle droid and Bly found himself yelling out in excitement. Normally she’d give him a smile after one of those moves, but that time she didn’t. It wasn’t the first thing that felt off about that battle; just another little thing to add to a long list. He and Aayla were out of sync for the first time as far as he could remember. Their movements were off, their everything was off, and it showed in their progress.

No, instead of smiling she pivoted just a moment after she should have, only to get hit in the side by blasterfire.

“GENERAL!” Bly rushed to her side. She was stable enough, which was to say she was awake and aware of the battle around her. It was more than Bly could have asked for.

“Commander, order the troops to retreat before we’re overrun.” Aayla winced. Breathing was becoming a problematic task. Bly pulled her arm over his shoulders and lifted her, letting her adjust for a brief moment before he took off into the line of foliage. As he ran, Aayla discovered that she was  _ very _ aware of the placement of his hands.

“Let’s go, boys!” Bly bellowed. The troops began to retreat into the jungle and Bly began beating himself up over the loss. 

Bly was nothing but professional with Aayla. He always had been. He’d always been the perfect commander, the perfect soldier to fight by her side, the perfect friend. Aayla was a  _ Jedi. _ She couldn’t. She  _ wouldn’t _ . Not again. She couldn’t risk the Council finding out  _ again. _ But if he wasn’t another Jedi this time...surely they wouldn’t?  _ No _ . 

Her vision slipped into a sea of black while her troops waited for the droids to lose their trail. This did nothing but increase Bly’s anxiety. Spec looked over Aayla as soon as he reached her, mumbling about how she  _ needed _ a dip in a bacta tank. It took two large bacta patches to cover her wound. Even when her vital signs stabilized and she woke up, Bly stayed on edge. He always did whenever Aayla got hurt in battle. 

She could feel his eyes piercing her. What was normally a source of comfort did nothing but throw her off. And it was  _ her _ fault the droids had overrun them. Her senses were clouded; she let the dream go to her head and in an attempt to calm herself, she shut Bly out and  _ that _ was why the mission had failed,  _ that _ was why she’d been hit. The loss was entirely on Aayla and she knew it. But she also knew her Commander, and she knew he’d be kicking himself for it. 

“Aayla, what’s your name mean in Ryl? Just asking to get your mind off this.” Bly asked while cleaning his rifle once safely back in Aayla’s tent. He seemed entirely wrapped up in his task, so the sudden break in the silence broke Aayla from her meditation. Not that she minded.

Aayla chuckled and tried ignoring the feeling in her core from Bly calling her by her name. It was something she’d insisted on, but she never expected her own visceral reaction to it. It was too late to stop it, though, but she wouldn’t have wanted to stop it, anyway. “What’s  _ your _ name mean?”

“In training I made a lot of jokes about everyone looking the same, so they took to calling me Bly.”

“In Ryl, ‘Aayla’ means mist or smoke.” She pressed her bacta patch more securely onto her ribcage. Bly nodded. It was a fitting name. “Secura means skilled, but in my case it’s just my clan name.”

“Skilled would be fitting, too.” Bly chuckled. Aayla laughed at that then smiled and shook her head. It distressed Bly a bit, the way she never acknowledged her skills.

“I’m glad you think so,  _ keella _ .”

It was only after the Ryl word came out of her mouth that Aayla realized what she’d said to him.

_ Kriff _ .

At least Bly didn’t speak Ryl. Aayla hoped he didn’t anyway. There was no reason for him to do so, anyway. He understood her signs well enough, but that was different from, say going out and learning a new spoken language. That’s what Aayla kept telling herself, anyway. 

“Sir, if it was what I said the other day, I--” Bly began but Aayla gripped his shoulder.

“It wasn’t, Bly. It was me, but it’s resolved.”

“What...is it, General? I-if I may ask.” Bly cleared his throat awkwardly.

“I...overthought a situation, Bly.”

“Oh.” Bly’s eyes went to the ground and he frowned. He was disappointed, yes, Aayla knew that much. 

“Today was my fault. I let something get to me--something that shouldn’t have had that power over me. Chin up, Commander. That is an order. Actually,” She said, stepping ever so closer to her commander, “Tilt it down.” Bly frowned, more out of confusion than anything else, but did it. Aayla grinned and slowly slid her hand up his chest to cup his cheek.

“General?” His voice wavered just a bit, and Aayla could feel his heart rate pick up. She sensed nothing but anticipation radiating from him, though. Aayla’s energy was different from anything he’d ever seen from her. Actually, no, it wasn’t. She’d given off this energy once before and it was around Jedi Master Kit Fisto. Bly immediately shoved the thought out of his mind. That wasn’t his business, it was  _ no way _ to think about his commanding officer, it was--

“I told you to drop that act whenever you came into my tent.”

Bly grinned. “Aayla.” She could tell by his eyes the man loved saying her name. And she loved hearing it from him more than anything. 

“This next part isn’t an order. More a request.” Bly frowned again, but leaned closer because he’d never been one to question Aayla and before he realized what was happening, Aayla’s lips were on his own. One of his hands darted to her hips to pull her closer, his face pressed further into hers. He let go of the tent flap he’s forgotten he was holding. Had he known  _ this _ was what was bothering her, he’d have had half a mind to plant one on her before their offensive. They pulled apart and Bly felt Aayla’s fingertips gently run over what was sure to turn into a scar on the side of his head. She dragged her gaze slowly across the yellow markings on Bly’s face. She’d always loved them, though she could never explain why. She wasn’t sure she cared about the why anymore. 

“Tomorrow we patrol that forest, right? Or whatever sort of jungle it is?” Bly asked as Aayla stripped off his armor. She rolled her eyes, but smiled as she did so, letting his chest piece hit the ground with a thud.

“Yes, tomorrow is the whole reason we came here to begin with. We’re using that patrol route to flank the droids. It’s supposed to be a big day.” Aayla sighed and a piece of Bly’s leg armor fell victim to her.

“I’m excited.” Bly grinned. Aayla wasn’t sure what he was excited about; all she knew was that she was excited, too. 

  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Keella-- Ryl for darling


End file.
